Mt. Mortar (Japanese: スリバチ山Mt. Suribachi) is a large cave in Johto with three entrances on Route 42. Part of the large range of mountains north of the Johto region, it is known to be a confusing maze-like area with an interior cave known as the Waterfall Cave. It is an optional cave to enter, but contains many valuable items and Pokémon. The player can pass through the mountain caves to bypass the lakes on Route 42. It is the training place of Kiyo, the Karate King from Saffron City. He will reward the player with a level 10 Tyrogue upon defeat.

Contents

Geography

Mt. Mortar has three entrances and is huge inside, one of the largest of all caves in the games. It has four floors, and its high Pokémon-encounter rate makes getting lost very costly. It has Surfable waterways, Waterfalls, Strength puzzles, and multiple levels. It is usually considered to be one of the toughest caves to navigate. The cave also provides limited vision in Gold and Silver unless Flash is used, but is already lit in Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver.

The Karate King

The Karate King, Kiyo, is the leader of the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. In Gold, Silver, and Crystal, he has gone to Mt. Mortar to train. In order to find him, the player must use the center entrance which offers access to water, then Surf ahead and climb a Waterfall. Then they must make their way to the bottom of the cave, where they will eventually find him waiting to be challenged. Kiyo uses a Hitmonchan and a Hitmonlee, and once they are defeated, he will give the player a Tyrogue as a reward. However, if the player does not have an empty slot in their party, Kiyo will tell them to make room for it, then come back.

Mt. Mortar was where Crystal trained her Pokémon-catching skills in the Gold, Silver & Crystal chapter. A wild Arcanine scared the young Crystal, chasing her away from the mountain, during which she fell and broke her arms. When she awakened, Crystal found a Natu, Parasect, Hitmonchan and Cubone all tending to her injuries. She also discovered that the four Pokémon were also being chased by the wild Arcanine. When Arcanine reappeared, Crystal noticed that an injury to Arcanine's right eye had caused Arcanine to become enraged, and convinced the Parasect that helped heal her earlier to heal Arcanine. The healing toned down Arcanine's aggression, and all five Pokémon became members of Crystal's team.

Under her mother's guidance, Crystal returned to Mt. Mortar after the battle with Suicune drained her confidence and made her lose her ability to capture even weak Pokémon. At Mt. Mortar, Crystal had her arms bandaged, as like before, it would have helped her gain the skills with her feet. During her re-training, Crystal encountered a wild Larvitar which turned out to have caused Archy's eye injury years earlier. Megaree evolved and helped defeat Larvitar, and Crystal was able to rediscover her capturing touch as she captured Larvitar with the first kick of the ball.

Name origin

Mt. Mortar is named after a mortar bowl used for grinding and mixing substances. A suribachi is the Japanese equivalent of a mortar bowl. Mortar is also a mixture of cement and water that is used to bind and fill gaps between construction bricks.